I remember when Korean beauty products were something that beauty bloggers on this side of the world didn’t really talk about. I don’t remember how many times people would say “I’ve always wanted to try Korean beauty products, but I’m scared/unsure of what to buy”. I honestly don’t know HOW Memeboxhas been able to get people to be so trusting all of a sudden, but hey, it’s getting Korean cosmetics on the map. One thing that Memebox has done incredibly well is choosing themes that make us go mental and cause us to buy boxes in MULTIPLES. Today’s coffee-themed Cafe Boxis going to be one of those multiple boxes so I apologize in advance.

Ah, the infamous Lord of Misrule Bath Bomb ($6.95 CDN). Even the name of this bath bomb sounds commanding and ominous and although I passed on it last year, this year I was determined to find out what the fuss was all about. When I read what the inspiration was behind this bath bomb, I was even more intrigued as it is inspired by the ruler of the Pagan Fest of Fools. INTENSE. The scent is heady with a spicy blend of patchouli and black pepper oil. Not my typical fruity, fun-loving scent, but still absolutely intoxicating.

Don’t laugh because this may be a summer box, BUT it is also my second to last Petit Vour even though I was heartbroken to end my subscription. Many reasons have gone into not talking about this box until now and if any of you were to look at my blogging history for July, it was probably one of THE quietest months for me thanks to a super terrible work situation and it’s funny how I can actually “feel” how unhappy I was through those July posts. Well, THAT took a turn for the personal so I’ll regroup and bring this post back to a really awesome Petit Vour box!

Two weeks ago, I booked my very first appointment to get my hair coloured. I swore to myself that I would not get my hair coloured until I start going gray, but at 31 it hasn’t happened yet, and I have been anxious to try something new. After reading some positive reviews for Hype Hair Salon and seeing them at Xpocity, I took the plunge and decided to enter the world of colour in baby steps by getting ombred(balayaged?)!

I was greeted relatively quickly, my coat taken and a glass of water offered while I waited. The studio was absolutely buzzing with activity and I couldn’t help but get caught up in the excitement.

The theme of the month for November is blue and silver for winter, and I immediately started freaking out. I could do some nail polish, but nothing too exciting since I am terrible at nail art of any sort. So I started thinking about makeup. I could do a blue and silver eyeshadow look for sure, but I decided to take it a step further. Why not just colour my whole face?

I was thinking something along the lines of The Capitol meets Blue Vanessa. Simple enough, right? Well, yes. Except I had to scrub my face for a long time afterwards...

Before you all run away and exclaim that I have yet another confusing skincare item to add to your 10-step skincare regime, hear me out! Released just this past August, the Marcelle Ideal Skin Perfector ($24.95 CDN)is a serum so it will fit in just after toning and right before moisturizing. On the Marcelle website, the instructions state to apply this FIRST in addition to any other serums you may be using. I preferred not to do this, but it’s totally up to you! Now that we know WHERE this product fits in, what does it do and more importantly, does it work?

Formulated for women of all ages and ethnicities, this skin perfector is all about improving and/or correcting skin tone, dark spots, pores and fine lines. Like most of Marcelle’s products, this product is fragrance and paraben-free and is hypoallergenic and dermatologist tested. It is also recognized by the Canadian Dermatology Association as part of their Skin Health Program. Within just 2 weeks, 89% of women saw an improvement in their skin texture and 78% more even skin tone (not sure how big the sample size is, but it’s usually less than 50 people).

I picked this polish up exactly one year ago and surprise, surprise, I never got around to wearing it until now. The fact that this Doctor Lacquer polish actually has the word “Movember” in it made me feel just silly wearing it any other time than November. Doctor Lacquer is one of my favourite indie polish companies and in my opinion, does the thermal polish in one of the BEST ways.

Stubs and Movember was a 3 coater for me and is black when cold and clear when warm. I love the contrasting bright blue hex glitter of all different sizes and of course the moustache glitter. There was an option to either have the moustaches inside the bottle ready to go OR to have them “on the side”. I chose to have them separately and I am glad I did because they refused to lie flat! I actually had to remove them because they were cutting my face and getting caught on everything!

In Vancouver, we hope for snow, but rarely receive anything to brag about. If anything, I probably should have posed with an umbrella instead of a scarf to accurately capture what winter is like here. I have experienced a few icy winters in Montreal, as that is where my in-laws are from, so I drew on my chilly outdoor ice skating experience for this month’s #NYCBeautyPro theme: Ice Skating in Rockefeller Center!

I have been working on using up some hefty full-sized items and had temporarily forgotten about foil packets and such in my fervour. My brain seems to be all over the place lately that I can barely remember where I put my keys, let alone sort through my samples. I have also been flat out scared to mess with samples of skincare because my skin has been so reactive which makes up 80% of my samples. I guess, on my body they go?

This is essentially a countdown as I have also cancelled my Ipsy subscription with October being my last bag. I just have way too much product to get through and things are starting to expire which always upsets me. Ipsy is still one of my favourite subs as there is always a lot of makeup in each bag and less skincare so I’d still highly recommend it if you’re looking for a new beauty subscription!

You’ll notice it says “super-sized” because that is EXACTLY what it is. It’s 414mL of well..pure bliss. I have always been a fan of the bliss body butters for their unique, yet subtle blend of scents. I obviously loved the lemon and sage scent enough to buy this mofo and haven’t looked back!

2. Shu Uemura | Brave Beauty Orange Palette

Those of you who saw my makeup look with this palette (here) know that I fell in love with the colour orange right then and there. The pigmentation and quality floored me and warrants its hefty $90 price tag if you’re looking for a palette that is completely different.

3. Urban Decay | Naked Flushed Palette

I picked this up last year, but have only really discovered it this year. This palette contains a highlighter, blush and bronzer all in one giant piece and you can select which parts you want to use. I generally use just the highlighter and blush and love that I can get a shimmer to my blush without having to open another product.

4. Lavanila | Vanilla Grapefruit Fragrance

I picked this up as a trio of minis a few years back and have been conserving the scent since. It lasts for HOURS on me and I love that two of my most favourite types of scents have been combined to form this lovely being. I also use the Vanilla Grapefruit deodorant and it is the ONLY deodorant scent that I have yet to get sick of.

5. Salonpas | Adhesive Muscle Relief Strips

I feel really old even mentioning these, but I actually use these to ease menstrual cramps. They feel more minty than hot, but the few hours of relief I get from one little patch is awesome. These look like an “ethnic” purchase, but I actually get mine from Shoppers Drug Mart. I hope I didn’t sound super racist right there…

6. Urban Decay | Naked 3 Dual-Ended 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil

I am totally obsessed with this eyeliner! On one end is Darkside and the other Blackheart. I use both fairly frequently with Blackheart being my personal favourite as it is a black liner with purple sparkles! It just makes a casual eye look just THAT much more interesting.

7. Marcelle | Lengthening and Curling Mascara

I will have to do a review of this (*ties a string around finger*) because I have recently rediscovered this little beauty. It is one of the few mascaras that seems to “add” lashes to my non-existent ones. It’s kind of magical, but the formula can get heavy for me if I over do it so I have to be careful.

8. Lise Watier | Liquid Eyeliner in Black

This was my very first liquid eyeliner EVER. I first purchased this in 2009 because it has one of the FINEST brushes I have ever used. I have used a lot of eyeliners after this and nothing has even come close. You just have to have a steady hand.

9. Clarisonic | Cashmere Cleanse Facial Brush

OMG. Ask to feel this in a Sephora and then rip open the box and try it on your face with water. It feels like your face is being massaged by a cloud. This is a very gentle cleanse so don’t look to this facial brush for a deep cleanse by any means.

Two months of favourites DONE! Off to read what the rest of you have been loving!

I am a hardcore Body Shop Color Crush fan as demonstrated by my now growing collection of Color Crush eyeshadows (reviews here and here). This Fall, The Body Shop decided to add another dimension to their makeup line – NAIL POLISH. Please heart, be still! Color Crush Nail Polishes ($8.00 CDN)comes in 24 glossy creme finishes and are 100% vegan-friendly. I’ve always wondered what vegan meant when it came to nail polish and it means that any glitter or shimmer will not come from fish scales (random nail polish fact).

The Color Crush Nail Polish debut begins with two absolutely gorgeous coats of Green with tiny Mint Cream polka dots. Both polishes had smooth, easily opaque formulas and were shiny all on their own without the addition of my top coat. I added one anyway since I wanted to preserve my mani for a few days.

I was quite impressed with these first two nail polishes from The Body Shop and I have a feeling the rest will be making me just as happy.

I talk about “natural and organic” beauty products a fair amount and although I wouldn’t call myself an eco-blogger, I do have my eyes peeled for stores and products that give me the option to be a little more healthy in my beauty choices. Good Earth Beautyis a family-owned business that prides itself on carrying only natural and/or organic beauty products that are cruelty-free.

Shortly before I was struck down with strep throat, I was having a blast with some of the new eyeshadow palettes (Fall Look #1) from the Vasanti Cosmetics Myeong-Dong Collection and playing around with its many bright colours. The fun continues with the Casa Mila Silky Eyeshadow Duo ($22 CDN) which is a darker, more dramatic palette more in tune with the classic vampy palette of Fall.

I am back with the current blogger favourite drugstore brand of the season – Amie Skincare! I feel like I’m talking about skincare A LOT, but it is truly a topic that I love and even though it can be daunting and filled with many “spiels” I do my best to navigate and hopefully share some useful tidbits with you all. After reviewing the Radiant Dawn Exfoliating Wash (review here), I had voiced that it was a little bit too rough for my skin for daily use. The Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash ($12 CDN)has been a MUCH better option for me and my skin thanks to the lack of exfoliating bits. It’s also pink which is a girly plus.

I pulled the cord and ended my Topbox sub in September due to the an overwhelming number of products in my life and the lack of excitement I was feeling from each Topbox. I have been a Topbox subscriber since November 2011, so it was a big part of my beauty blogging life. I do still LOVE their limited edition FLARE and LOULOU boxes so I will definitely have my eye on those!

August’s Topbox was fairly lackluster for me which is what really got me to break up with Topbox, but I believe the Jayne from 2011 would have really loved it because she had so little product back then. Nonetheless, I would use 50% of the items in this box, but that always seems to be the case with all of my more recent Topboxes. Shall we dive in?

That last week before Halloween was a bit of a gong show for me, but thank God for uplifting scents and loads of bubbles from Lush’s Wizard Bubble Bath Bar ($7.95 CDN)! I don’t know what I’d do without that time to myself. I just love this little wizard’s eyes. They seem so childlike and cartoony and he’s (I’m guessing it’s a HE?) even a little shimmery. This bubble bar is a blend of tangerine, juniper berry and fennel essential oils which is what I would call a “warm citrus” scent.

The bathwater becomes a bright purple-pink and look at all those bubbles! I will admit that I may have created a bubble bikini at some point during my bath…

There are still more of this Halloween release online so if you can’t resist his little face, take him home now!

I like seeing results right away. Who doesn’t? This is exactly my story with the Guerlain Abeille Royale (“Royal Bee”) Repairing Honey Gel Mask ($167 CDN). I guarantee that it will be love at first application especially for dry or dehydrated skin in need of repair. Using royal jelly and a gel-like texture, this honey mask promises to “help skin recover density and plumpness week after week”. Among many other benefits, royal jelly has been shown to increase collagen production leading to skin with an increase in firmness! Again, who doesn’t want that?!

How awesome is it that Lise Watier decided to partner up with a beauty vlogger to create a makeup collection? We’ve seen this type of partnership happen before with other US companies, but with Lise Watier being Canadian, it feels like this collaboration is happening “within the family”. TheAlex Collectionis described as a “luminous collection for both young girls women alike” and has been created by YouTuber Alexandra Larouche of Alex Fashion Beauty. I had not heard of Alex until this collection launched as her channel is in French and even with my high school knowledge of the language, it can get hard to follow especially when she’s excited about something!

Collection Alex consists of three products, sold exclusively on the Lise Watier website as a tribute to the medium that has made Alex successful. The rose gold packaging is just gorgeous and the chevrons are a symbol that Alex has adopted throughout her vlogging career.

As promised, one lucky reader will get to experience the bath and body goodness of NSPA Beauty! This giveaway is open internationally and will include the Vanilla Fragrance Body Mist, Raspberry Daily Fresh Shower Scrub (review here) and the Ultra Hydrate Cream (review here).

I never used to give a damn about my eyebrows. They were the last thing I ever worried about on my face because I have so little eyebrow hair that I felt they may as well be invisible. With stronger brows being the in-thing, I started taking my “brow health” much more seriously. I am still very much a newbie when it comes to doing anything with my brows so thank God for Billion Dollar Brows and kits like the Billion Dollar Brows Best Sellers Kit ($34.99 USD) that break it down for me step by step and product by product. Billion Dollar Brows specializes in one thing – you guessed it, BROWS and is the “brow child” of Natalie and Bob Plain.

In addition to making bath time smell that much more delectable, NSPAalso carries a number of Beauty Rituals products that take you from cleansing, exfoliating, and treating to moisturizing. NSPA is about taking of numero uno, so why not have a great skincare routine in addition to a relaxing bath time session?

I take great pains to make sure my skin is happy, but in the last two weeks it has completely flipped out on me with its insatiable thirst. My cheeks have been so flaky and dry that my skin actually looks much less agitated WITHOUT makeup and ONLY moisturizer. NSPA’s Ultra Hydrate Creamis touted as the perfect moisturizer for changes in weather and dry skin patches with ginseng, Vitamin E and Pro-Vitamin B5 to ensure 12 hour hydration without the greasiness.